Chapter 126: Chapter 113: Older Brother-in-law

Isla Prescott, of course, knew he was speaking from the heart.

If he didn’t love her, how could he have risked his life to save her when danger struck?

Having finally gotten the answer she wanted, Isla felt a wave of emotion and joy, her heart softening beyond words.

She wanted to pour out her own heart to Shane Sterling in return, but just as she opened her mouth, Ivan Fulton’s booming voice came from the doorway.

“Sean! You’re awake!”

Ivan Fulton walked into the hospital room, followed by Silas Lockwood.

Silas was still in a hospital gown, but he was holding a bouquet of sunflowers.

Maybe it was the contrast with Shane Sterling, or perhaps the vibrant, brilliant sunflowers, but Silas Lockwood looked to be in high spirits.

“You didn’t have to bring flowers,” Shane Sterling said, looking at Silas Lockwood.

“It’s called returning the favor. I have to say, you’re a real cheapskate. You send me one bouquet when I’m in the hospital, and you make me pay it back this fast.” Silas joked as he walked to the bedside and placed the sunflowers on the nightstand.

“That’s right. I’m stingy and cheap. I wouldn’t let you get away with the cost of a single bouquet.”

The two men traded insults, then looked at each other and smiled.

“How are you holding up?” Shane asked.

“I’m fine. Not dead yet. You?”

“Same here. Not dead yet.”

Ivan rolled his eyes from the side. “I know you two are rivals in love, but do you have to compete even when you’re in the hospital? What’s next? A contest to see who stays hospitalized longer?”

“We’re not rivals anymore.” Silas walked over to stand behind Isla. Looking at Shane, he said, “I’m this guy’s brother-in-law now.”

“Brother-in-law?”

“That’s right. Isla is my sister, and he’s her boyfriend. Doesn’t that make me his brother-in-law?”

After his talk with Isla the other day, Silas had completely moved on. He had lost his status as “Isla Prescott’s boyfriend,” and he refused to lose his status as “Isla Prescott’s brother” too.

After all, for the first two years after Isla joined the Lockwood Family, he had genuinely treated her as his own sister. Now, he was simply returning to that original role.

Hearing Silas’s words, Isla turned and smiled at him.

Silas reached out and ruffled Isla’s hair, just like he did when she was a child.

Shane didn’t know when their relationship had become so simple and pure. He recalled getting a call from Isla while he was abroad. They were supposed to be broken up at the time, yet she suddenly said she missed him. ’Could it be that Silas had a hand in reconciling them?’

“I was planning on fighting you again, but it looks like that won’t be necessary now,” Shane said.

“Why not? If you ever dare to treat Isla poorly in the future, I’ll still beat you up.” Silas raised a fist at Shane.

“I’m afraid you’ll never have a reason to use that fist in your life.” Shane’s gaze shifted to Isla. “I will definitely treat her well.”

His tone was as resolute as the day he had sworn an oath before the Buddha.

“I hope you keep your word.”

“Of course.”

Seeing them get more and more serious, Ivan quickly interjected, “Alright, alright, that’s enough. Sean just woke up and needs to rest. And Isla has been up all night—look at the dark circles under her eyes. Let her go home and get some sleep.”

“He’s right, Isla. Go get some sleep. I’m fine,” Shane said.

Isla was still a little worried. “I can sleep here, too.”

“How could you possibly get a comfortable sleep in a hospital room? Go home. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on things here during the day,” Ivan said. “You can come back after you’ve rested.”

Silas nodded. “Listen to him. Go home and sleep. If Sean makes you worry, I’ll beat him up too.”

Isla smiled. “Alright, then.”

—

Isla went home, took a shower, and fell straight to sleep.

She woke up after just over three hours. Still worried about Shane, she packed a few changes of clothes and hurried back to the hospital.

As she reached the door to Shane’s room, she heard voices from inside.

“What? Are you going to keep fighting me with silence?” a deep, middle-aged man’s voice asked, tinged with mockery.

Isla peeked through the crack of the slightly ajar door and saw Shane’s father, Victor Sterling, sitting ramrod straight by the bed in a sharp suit.

He didn’t look like he was there to visit the sick at all. With his arrogant demeanor, he looked more like he was there to make a show of force.

Looking at the scene, Isla suddenly understood why Ivan had insisted on not contacting the family during Shane’s surgery. It turned out Shane’s family were his enemies.

“I don’t know when this rift between us started. Over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever mistreated you. The only thing that didn’t go your way was your marriage. And at the end of the day, that’s because the two daughters of the Quincy Family weren’t good enough. But if you were unhappy, you could have talked to me. I’m not a tyrant, am I?”

From the hospital bed, Shane Sterling let out a soft scoff.

Victor Sterling had a complete lack of self-awareness. He was clearly the most controlling person in the entire Sterling Family.

“It seems you’ve been dissatisfied with me for a long time.” Victor Sterling chuckled. “To be honest, you’ve disappointed me, too. I always thought you were a sensible person, but to think you’d end up like this over a woman. And a poor girl from the backwoods, no less.”

“She doesn’t need your approval or your judgment,” Shane said coldly.

“So, that poor girl really does have her charms. You only deign to speak when she’s mentioned. You haven’t gotten serious, have you? The two of you are a complete mismatch. If you actually get together with her, you’ll be a laughingstock.”

“You seem to have forgotten where you came from,” Shane retorted. “Weren’t you just a poor boy once, too?”

“Shut up! Don’t be like that bitch Audrey Hughes, always digging up the past. I am the CEO of Sterling Group now! I’m richer than ninety-nine percent of the people in Meritopia.”

“So what? If you could do it all over again, you still wouldn’t deserve Ms. Audrey Hughes.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“A true match isn’t about social status, it’s about being on the same spiritual plane. And you, with your constant talk of money and fame, are simply not worthy of her.”

In Shane’s eyes, Audrey Hughes was like a jar of aged huadiao wine—clear and calm on the surface, but with a fiery spirit that could burn the throat. Victor Sterling, on the other hand, was just a bottle of cheap baijiu.

“’On the same spiritual plane?’ Listen to yourself. Did that poor girl put these ideas in your head?”

“She has a name. Since you call yourself the CEO of Sterling Group, you should at least show a little class. Don’t disgrace the company!” Shane shot Victor a sidelong glance. “Besides, you won’t be sitting in the CEO’s chair for much longer.”

“I know about the little moves you’ve been making behind my back. My dear son, don’t forget, I hold forty-six percent of Sterling Group’s shares, while you only have thirty-three. If you want to stage a rebellion, you’d better think long and hard about whether you’re qualified!”

Shane remained silent.

Victor didn’t know that the ’little moves’ he saw were just a smokescreen. Where he couldn’t see, Shane had already finished gathering evidence of all his crimes, including Chloe Kerr’s car accident. Over the years, Victor had gotten a lot of blood and filth on his hands, and the evidence Shane had collected was enough to be his ruin.

Shane had been running around recently for the sole purpose of uniting the company’s minority shareholders to amend the corporate bylaws. The goal was to oust Victor from Sterling Group before his crimes were exposed, to prevent the company’s stock price from plummeting.

He had been close to success, but he never expected Victor to suddenly make a move against Isla, disrupting his plan to have it both ways.

“Why so quiet?” Victor looked at Shane with a sinister gaze. “My dear son, wake up. You can’t do anything to me. I suggest you back off now. Otherwise, who knows who will be the next one to have an ’accident’.”

Hearing this, Isla suddenly realized that her car crash might not have been an accident.

Rage surged within her. Just as she was about to push the door open and storm in, she suddenly heard a clear female voice from behind her. “Victor Sterling, who says he can’t do anything to you?”

Isla turned around and saw a woman in a long, tea-colored ramie tunic walking gracefully toward them.

It was Audrey Hughes.

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